Disposable cups made from plastics or plastic lined paper are a commonly used alternative to reusable drinking cups for their low cost and convenience. Both styrofoam and paper cups can hold hot liquids for extended periods of time. However, disposable cups are not good for the environment. Because they are not biodegradable, they litter the environment or fill landfills. In addition, the plastics used in disposable cups are derived from fossil fuels.
Edible cups are an alternative to disposable cups that are better for the environment. Edible cups do not produce the harmful waste of disposable cups because they are eaten or quickly biodegrade if discarded. The most common types of edible cups, such as ice cream cones, are made from baked dough. These cups are made by pouring batter into a mold and then baking, forming dough around a mandrel and then baking, or baking and quickly forming. However, these types of edible cups cannot hold liquids for extended periods of time because they are not waterproof. One solution to this problem is to coat the dough cup with a waterproof layer. U.S. Pat. No. 6,068,866 to Petrini discloses an edible cup made of twice-baked pastry with a waterproof layer made of sugar, water, starch, and gum that is capable of containing hot and cold drinks without leaking or losing its structural integrity. However, this additional layer requires an added coating process and the cups are still limited to the structural integrity of baked dough.
Another type of edible cup is made from dehydrated fruits or vegetables. U.S. Pat. No. 6,423,357 to Woods discloses an edible container, which can hold and contain low viscosity liquids for extended periods of time, made of dehydrated fruit or vegetable formed into strips and wrapped around a mandrel. However, dehydrated fruit and vegetable is susceptible to rehydration when in contact with a liquid. Additionally, cups such as these suffer from both the strength limitations of the dehydrated fruit or vegetable and the difficulty in forming the dehydrated material into a cup shape.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improvement over existing disposable cups that is edible, biodegradable, easily formed into cup shapes and can hold hot and cold liquids for extended periods of time without losing its structural integrity.